The Throne in Heaven
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” (Rev. 4:1)
Having reviewed the things that have been (Rev. 1) and the things that are (Rev. 2-3), we have now arrived at part three of the book, the things that will be after this. John looked up and saw an open door, the one he had first heard about when he wrote down the letter to the Church in Philadelphia. And just like Paul said would happen to us (1 Thes. 4:16) he heard a loud command, “Come up here!”
At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. (Rev. 4:2-3)
In the twinkling of an eye, John was catapulted forward in time to the day we all dream of, the Rapture of the Church. Since he was traveling through time, he had to have what we call an out of body experience, because he wasn’t given a resurrection body, like we will be, and would soon be going back. He called it being in the spirit.
The same thing had happened to Paul about 40 years earlier, when he also was taken to the Throne of God (2 Cor. 12:1-4). Paul wasn’t allowed to tell about it, but its memory provided more than enough motivation for him to withstand the severest forms of persecution and suffering. Unlike Paul, John was told to record every thing he saw. The Jasper and Carnelian he saw are the first and last stones on the High Priest’s breastplate and may summarize them all, and the rainbow is a symbol of God’s mercy.
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. (Rev. 4:4)
These 24 elders confuse some people, but they shouldn’t. Their appearance gives them away. They have thrones, so they’re rulers. They surround the Throne of God, so they’re assisting Him. They’re seated, a sign of royalty. They’re dressed in white, so they’re righteous. They’re wearing the Greek “stephanos” crown, so they’re victors, over comers. They’re called Elders, a title long associated with Christianity. So far we have a pretty strong case for them representing the Church. But there’s more.
Some try to explain the 24 thrones by saying that they belong to a group of ruling angels. But four Prophets saw the throne of God and recorded their experience. They were Isaiah (Isaiah 6), Ezekiel (Ezek. 1 & 10), Daniel (Dan. 7), and John (Rev. 4). In their descriptions, neither Isaiah nor Ezekiel made any mention of the 24 elders indicating that they weren’t present in Old Testament times. Daniel’s vision concerned the End Times and in Dan. 7:9 he mentioned multiple thrones but didn’t add any details as to the number or type of occupants. This is consistent with the fact that the Church was hidden to Old Testament prophets even in visions of the future. Only John made mention of the 24 Elders. And note that these elders are wearing the crowns of over comers. The Church won’t receive crowns until the Bema Seat judgment that takes place after the Rapture.
Blessings,
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